What a far cry from our previous two spring breaks! Last year we met my parents in Sedona, Arizona, where they had rented a vacation house for all of us to stay in. We hiked and played in the sun and enjoyed the 65-degree weather, but I definitely needed some down time when we got back. The year before we flew to New Jersey, again to see my mom and dad. We celebrated Passover with my siblings and extended family and other friends. I returned needing a vacation from my vacation.
This year, we went nowhere and did nothing, and I feel utterly relaxed and ready to go back to work. Okay, so we didn’t exactly do nothing, but not packing up and schlepping somewhere on a plane with the whole family has left me far more rejuvenated than I thought it would. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 30, 2009 // Leave a Comment
My younger son fusses freely about many things. But when he’s sick, particularly with the stomach flu, his true inner gentleman emerges. No matter how horrific the bug, my stoic 8-year-old barely complains, and calmly embraces a delirious, meditative state. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 26, 2009 // Leave a Comment
If you haven’t picked up the March issue of Metro Parent, you’ll want to do so today. We’ll begin distribution of our April (Earth Day) issue tomorrow. (Disclaimer: You can always access the March issue online in the Archives section of the Web site.)
There’s a lot of great stuff in the March issue. We cover a bunch of Parent Education topics in our Ages & Stages feature – from the importance of executing a will to how to talk to your kids about the birds and the bees. We review OMSI’s fantastic new exhibit, Da Vinci: The Genius and we help get you started on “greening” your (house)cleaning. And much more.
One of the issues we cover is the hot topic of cord blood banking. If you’ve given birth in the past few years, you’ve no doubt given this subject some thought. You’ve also, no doubt, been bombarded with advertising from private cord blood banks, urging you to not miss out on this “once in a lifetime” opportunity to bank your child’s cord blood for future use. Of course, there’s a cost: the two most popular private cord blood banks charge about $2,000 for the initial fee, plus $125 annually for storage.
In our March issue, OHSU physician Eneida Nemecek discusses the value of cord blood, which is rich in stem cells which can potentially cure many diseases. She then makes a strong argument for donating your child’s cord blood to a public bank More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 25, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Local moms will have delicious fun at a benefit for the Children’s Book Bank on Tuesday, March 24 from 6 to 7:30 pm at a $10 Wine & Chocolate tasting at the hip and happenin’ wine shop Cork, 2901 N. Alberta (www.corkwineshop.com). Guests are asked to donate at least one gently used (or new) children’s book.
The Children’s Book Bank, headed by former school teacher Dani Swope, collects books for distribution to low-income children. Research shows that one of the biggest factors influencing later scholastic success is simply having books in the home. Check out this shocking stat: “While the ratio of books to children in middle-income neighborhoods is approximately 13 books to 1 child, the ratio in low-income neighborhoods is 1 book to 300 children.” Last spring the Book Bank shared over 1500 books with Portland area at-risk kids. Click here for more information and volunteer opportunities. Otherwise, meet Dani on Tuesday at Cork!
Submitted by Kandy
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 23, 2009 // Leave a Comment
In our March issue we included a round-up of fun ideas (think camps, classes, events, attractions) that families should consider for Spring Break. Among those suggestions were special “pioneer activities” planned at The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City. After the issue went to print, we received notification that The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center would be suspending operations as of March 7 (the Museum of the Oregon Territory and Stevens-Crawford Heritage House also were closed).
It’s another sign of the difficult times we’re experiencing. We hope that the museum will re-open down the road apiece. For more information, visit www.historicoregoncity.org.
Click here to learn about other Spring Break possibilities.
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 22, 2009 // Leave a Comment
“No, my fair cousin, the fewer the men, the greater the glory!” my 8-year-old son booms proudly from the school stage.
I love seeing my second grader performing lines from Shakespeare, and he loves it, too.
Without these acting classses, we never would have realized the talent our son has, or how much joy he gets from being on stage. I am so thankful that, despite the bare bones staffing budget in our public schools, our community has raised the money to offer classes like this. More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on March 17, 2009 // Leave a Comment
I’m always up for an afternoon of theater, especially children’s theater, but when I read about Honus & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure, the current offering from the Oregon Children’s Theatre (OCT), I wasn’t sure it would be the best show for my 8-year-old son and me. We don’t follow major league baseball for one thing, and my son has never played Little League. Still, we decided to give it a try. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 10, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Last week, we did a little horn-tooting about how well we did in this year’s Parenting Publications of America’s (PPA’s) Editorial and Design Awards Competition. We bragged, gloated and patted ourselves on the back(s). And then, as an afterthought really, listed the awards with the actual writers/designers whose work made them possible.
Our bad.
So, now we’d like to recognize upfront (on the HOME page!) those hard-working professionals, without whom, we’d be lost (and without awards, too, for that matter).
Through the quality work of the following individuals, Metro Parent was honored with seven PPA awards this year (most of these folks have won multiple prizes):
Writers:
Teresa Carson
Melissa Favara
Anne Laufe
Emily Puro
Marie Sherlock
Designer:
Susan Bard
Congratulations – and thanks – to all of you!
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 8, 2009 // 1 Comment
Ouch. One day we’re winning awards; the next day we’ve got egg on our face. (Which, it turns out, really should be sunscreen.)
An observant reader pointed out to us that the girl on our March cover has a pretty nasty sunburn going. It only took one (additional) look and we had to agree. Had we noticed the red legs and the beginnings of a burn on the young girl’s face, we would absolutely NOT have used this photo for our cover. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 5, 2009 // Leave a Comment
We outdid ourselves – literally – in Parenting Publications of America’s (PPA’s) 2009 Editorial and Design Excellence Competition. We managed to snag a total of seven awards – two more than last year – including three Gold prizes. The awards were announced this weekend at PPA’s annual convention.
PPA is a national trade association of regional parenting publications with over 120 member publications across the country. PPA’s annual Editorial and Design Awards Competition – which recognizes excellence in journalism by publishers, editors, writers and designers at member publications – is truly the gold standard for magazines like Metro Parent. If regional parenting publications had Oscars, these would be them.
So we’re beyond tickled with our showing this year! Along with the three Gold awards – for general feature, service feature and humor writing (our “Going Places with Ramona” column), we won awards for two articles appearing in our annual Education & Enrichment Guide as well as a General Excellence award for our “Your Baby & You” supplement. And we earned a Bronze in the top editorial category (Overall Writing).
Keep reading for a list of all of our awards this year. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 3, 2009 // Leave a Comment
It’s Read Across America Day! Each year, on Dr. Seuss’ birthday, the National Education Association encourages all of us to read with our kids. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, community centers and more participate by bringing kids and books together. (Even Google is observing Read Across America Day – check out their home page!)
If your child’s school isn’t participating – or your child is not in school yet – simply click here. You’ll find lots of information, including free digital read-along versions of Dr. Seuss books.
If you’d like ideas for great “teacher approved” books for youngsters, click here.
And here’s a list of tips for parents of preschoolers.
But do take the time to enjoy at least one Dr. Seuss classic with your kids today!
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on March 2, 2009 // Leave a Comment
